I. Agreement Formation With a Partnership Under Pennsylvania law, binding a partnership to a contract requires proof of three things: (1) mutual assent, (2) sufficiently definite terms, and (3) consideration. Courts apply an objective theory of contracts, focusing on what the parties said and did—not their later characterizations of…
Anticipatory Repudiation in PA (and CASPA Update)
When One Side Walks Away Early Contracts don’t always fall apart at the end. Sometimes, one party makes it clear—before the work is finished—that they won’t follow through. Pennsylvania law has a doctrine for that situation called anticipatory repudiation. Anticipatory repudiation allows a party to treat a contract as…
Superior Court Affirms Disputed Settlement
When parties walk away from negotiations believing different things, courts face a difficult question: what should they do when one party insists a binding settlement was reached, while the other claims no agreement ever existed—or that a different deal controls? Any time settlement discussions advance far enough that…
Status of FTC Ban
August 20, 2024 UPDATE: As we’ve reported, the Federal Trade Commission has banned enforcement of noncompete agreements in employer-employee contracts. However, the United States Chamber of Commerce and Ryan LLC (a tax advising group) sued the FTC, challenging its authority to ban noncompetes, as only Congress has such power. Click…
Opposing Claims on the Docket For Money: UPDATE
Changes in Allegheny County: Collection of Money Suits It has become increasingly more difficult for defense lawyers in Allegheny County to defend claims for non-payment of alleged credit card debt, which involve breach of contract claims. As of late, more and more Pittsburgh Judges refuse to dismiss lawsuits filed by…
The Senate’s Bill to Ban Work Restriction Clauses
Workforce Mobility Act of 2023 In the United States Senate, a bipartisan group of Senators have reintroduced a bill, titled the “Workforce Mobility Act of 2023.” This would ban the use of non-compete agreements nationwide as a matter of federal statute. This comes after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s proposed…
In Case You Missed it… Legal Updates in PA
Been distracted? The pandemic side-tracked the entire world, including the legal community, but some notable changes in the law have happened in Pennsylvania. This blog will track many of those changes and also provide ongoing updates in the law that the public — including lawyers — may have missed. Enjoy!…
Understanding Law and “Non-Precedential” Opinions
Legal research can be done for free and easily through Google Scholar, but what does it mean when a PA superior court opinion is marked “non-precedential”? Your spell checker — if it’s like mine — won’t recognize the word “precedential” and will suggest “presidential,” which is totally different. A non-precedential…
Update – Reference to Insurance Elections at Trial
If your limited tort case doesn’t settle, you may go to trial. There, the lawyers are generally not permitted to mention insurance in front of the jury. Rather, the judge will instruct the jury to decide whether it believes the evidence supports a finding that the Plaintiff suffered a substantial…
Key Decisions in 2017
Every year the appellate court (click here) address new cases that “fill in” missing “pieces” of the law. Let’s have a look at some 2017 developments. Elements of Claim For “Bad Faith” Against an Insurance Company “Bad faith” is when an insurance company denies a claim for a…
